Cafés are using economical forms of online marketing to get new customers. With basic tools, these independent cafés are proving that meaningful connections to the communities do not need gigantic marketing budgets, and occasionally, the best affordable online marketing is all they need.
Social Media is the New Storefront
Instagram and Facebook are, for many cafés, the digital equivalent of a busy street corner. Uploading new daily specials and brewing videos or photos of brews and latte art engages coffee enthusiasts and new customers alike.
Cafés can target a local audience with affordable sponsored posts, ensuring their advertising focuses on individuals within walking distance.
Nurturing Online Loyalty
Repeated purchases are the essence of small coffee shops, which online tools make easy to develop. Simple e-newsletters serve to promote and circulate offers, and digital punch cards allow customers to get rewards for repeated visits.
The personal touch that persists in the communications allows cafés to break the boundaries of larger coffee shop chains that tend to be unresponsive to communities.
Collaborations with Local Creators
Like many other elements of web-based marketing, these partnerships with food bloggers and micro-influencers are becoming more common. Unlike large influencer campaigns, collaborations at the local level are more authentic and cost-effective.
A single post from a food vlogger in the area and a few new customers walk in the door, and the marketing budget is in the green.
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Harnessing Affordable Tools and Courses
More and more cafe owners are investing in affordable marketing courses. With the proliferation of digital marketing courses, there is a race to the bottom to offer the same or similar course at the lowest possible price. For the price of a few cups of coffee, a cafe owner can gain knowledge that would cost thousands of dollars.
The Community Effect
Like Mckinsey award winning marketing, affordable online marketing is much more than sales. Restaurants are starting to understand that if they can get customers to share their experiences, they can reach naked customers that can and will buy without ever seeing the brand, which drives down customer acquisition cost.
The type of ended price promotion where the customer is paid to make a purchase builds a base of loyal customers who will advertise for the brand without compensation.
A Level Playing Field
Although the most commercially successful coffee vendors will still spend big money on traditional ads, many small, independent cafés have turned to more creative, less expensive, digitally driven strategies that have proven successful.
These success stories exemplify how ad spend is becoming less and less relevant to success, while meaningfully building digital relationships is more and more primary.